What was supposed to be a yearlong $140,000 renovation ballooned into three excruciating years that cost us more than $500,000 — and the work is still not finished. But as my husband and I soon discovered, unless you've made a plan, legal protections for homeowners are close to nonexistent. Every time our contractor turned up the temperature, we grimly adjusted to the reality of our demise. Knowing the cardinal rule of home renovation — never pay in full until the job is over and inspected — we grew suspicious. Despite completing several home-improvement and renovation projects with her husband over the years, she lacked the confidence to DIY the renovation of her newly purchased 6,500-square-foot home.

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Persons: Arcadis, you've, Christine Chitnis, wasn't, It's, We've, Amanda Jane Jones, Jones, David Jensen, Greenberg Traurig, He'd, Jensen, Lisa DiAntonio, DiAntonio, hadn't, what's, Condé Organizations: Homeowners, Harvard's, for Housing Studies, Department of Business, American Institute of Architects, Vogue, The New York Times Locations: Rhode Island, North America, Northern Michigan, Michigan, Utah, New Jersey, Andover , Massachusetts